In the early '80s, U2 dominated like few others.

Meanwhile there was a plucky little group from Wales that had a slightly similar sound, infectious idealism, and anthems for days.

The band was The Alarm, and its frontman was Mike Peters, who succumbed to a decades-long fight with blood cancer on Tuesday.

Peters, like many in the mid 1970s, began his musical journey with punk. In 1978 his band made the decision to change their name from The Toilets to Quasimodo.

While little became of that group, Peters and their guitarist, Dave Sharp, knew they had something special together.

In 1981 they co-founded The Alarm together and a few years later they released Declaration, one of the best debut albums of the '80s.

Despite being disparaged with be being called U-one-and-a-half, objective listeners would agree Declaration was as solid as anything the Irish lads released up until The Joshua Tree.

With bangers like "Marching On," "Where Were You Hiding," and their hit "68 Guns," one could see why casual listeners might think The Alarm were biting from Bono.

Truth of the matter is, U2 was pivotal to helping the band break. During the third leg of U2's 1983 War Tour, they invited the Alarm to open for them around the USA.

“Our first show was in San Francisco at the Civic,” Peters told Classic Rock.

“Our hire truck had a 50mph limiter on it, so we got there late. Bono and The Edge met us at the door and helped us hump our gear in. I can remember a fan going: ‘That roadie looks like Bono!’ They had their caps pulled down, but they were throwing our gear up on stage.”

With his spiky hair, strong voice and harmonica holder(!), Peters came across a less pretentious singer than what was chic at the time.

Also The Alarm came across as underdogs which was appealing to young people worldwide.

"68 Guns" checked off all the boxes including uplifting background vocals and a horn section that brought chills.

When the group played Top of the Pops in 1983 Peters mimed along to the track while working a twelve-string as on either side his bandmates held up acoustic guitars.

He missed the cue to blow into the harp and the horns were nowhere to be seen. It didn't matter. Just the look in his eyes was enough to win over even more fans and the album, when it was released in the UK shot to #5. It went to #50 in the US.

When record buyers brought home Declaration we were shocked at how every single song was good. Decades later they still held up, unlike some from that era.

The band's sophomore album, Strength, lived up to its name and proved their debut was no fluke. Here was another record with hit after hit.

Their label, IRS, who had given us The Go-Gos, The Fine Young Cannibals, and R.E.M., released four singles from the LP between '85-'86: "Absolute Reality," "Strength," "Spirit of '76," and "Knife Edge."

It was a marvel. How could one band have that many radio-friendly, yet edgy tunes, and yet somehow defy the stardom of lesser bands with fewer hits? One thing's for certain, it wasn't Peters' fault.

They were so good in 1989 Neil Young jumped on stage to play his new song, "Rockin' In The Free World," with them in NYC.

And yet, on the last day of June in 1991, he shocked the band and the fans who came to see them play at the legendary Brixton Academy when he announced during the set “this is the last time I’ll be playing with The Alarm."

Shocking because just look at that setlist. Any band would have loved to have had that material. It's almost too much rock.

What had happened was over the years half of the band wanted to move into a new, bluesier, guitar-focused direction. The other side wanted to stand pat.

Peters, who had been inspired by the Texas guitar hero Stevie Ray Vaughn, wanted to rock harder. His guitarist did not.

“That was it for me,” Peters said. “I still find it hard to talk about.”

Throughout the '80s he had been balancing his rockstar life with a simpler walk in his hometown of Rhyl, where he met his future wife, Jules, during a weekend visit. The couple had two sons, both conceived through IVF.

Along the way, Peters discovered he had lymph cancer but recovered from it in 1996. He soon returned to performing, and even hosted a BBC Radio Wales show.

In 2005, he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation to promote cancer awareness and bone marrow donation.

Two years later he spread awareness by leading a group of musicians and cancer survivors to Mount Everest base camp to perform the world’s highest concert on land. The 38 participants included Cy Curnin and Jamie West-Oram of The Fixx, Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, and Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats.

He continued his advocacy while receiving honors including an MBE in 2019 for services to cancer care. Peters remained active in his North Wales community and underwent multiple treatments as his illness progressed. In 2024, he was reported to be in remission from Richter’s Syndrome but later began CAR T-cell therapy after failing to achieve full remission. He died April 29, 2025.

We're so grateful he graced us with his presence and stories back in 2023.

RIP, Mike Peters.